Why is Canada hesitating on a free-trade deal with China?

It seems China wants it more than Canada.

On Thursday, China's political leaders said they're interested in exploring the feasibility of a full free-trade agreement.

But according to PostMedia News, Canadian officials, accompanying Stephen Harper on his trip to the middle kingdom, were quick to nix the idea - at least for now.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here," international trade minister Ed Fast told reporters.

"We've achieved a milestone, which is a foreign investment protection-promotion agreement, which really puts our investments on a firm footing."

But isn't gaining market access to a country of almost 1.4 billion people something we should be actively pursuing?

Last January, Eddie Goldenberg, former Chrétien chief of staff, and John Weekes, Canada's chief negotiator on NAFTA, penned a column for the Globe and Mail arguing Canada must negotiate a free-trade deal with China now or get left behind.

"The case for building a closer economic relationship with China for the long-term economic advantage of both partners is overwhelming," they wrote.

"Time is not on our side. New Zealand, Chile and the ASEAN countries have negotiated free-trade agreements with China, and Australia is currently negotiating one. Canada cannot afford to wait until everyone else has a deal. Bold political leadership is needed in both countries to work toward that objective."

David Emerson, Harper's former trade and foreign minister, told the National Post he'd love to see a free-trade deal struck with China.

"You can't sell stuff in Canada and be globally competitive. You have to open up markets and we don't have any trade agreements in Asia," he said.

"We need to have a more aggressive, collaborative relationship with China."

In less than six years, the Harper government has concluded free trade agreements with nine countries—Colombia, Honduras, Jordan, Panama, Peru and the European Free Trade Association states of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Canada has also launched negotiations on a number of trade agreements, including with India and the European Union, two of the largest markets in the world.

Even in South America, despite criticism, Harper chose economic gain over human rights in signing trade deals with countries that have dubious records.

Why would China be any different?